In 1976, a large-scale archaeological discovery took place under an old candy factory in the city of York (United Kingdom). It was discovered an important Viking settlement, and with this, a monstrosity that never, neither before nor now, has returned to repeat itself.
They say that the city of York, today a splendid city of elegant architecture and wealthy past, went through a stage very similar to the one lived not far from there, when London was considered the dirtiest city of the old continent.
In York there was a compelling reason: the numerous settlements that had existed for thousands of years had developed a second layer of garbage under the city, a dense and compact mass of crap.
Curious, because part of that mass was conserved splendidly thanks to the fact that the soil in some parts of the city is usually flooded and largely free of oxygen, preserving for more than 1,000 years things like wood, leather, cloth and bones, most of which would normally have been completely biodegraded in just a decade or two.
Thus, in 1976, a Viking settlement was discovered under the old candy factory. A few years earlier, in 1972, the foundations of a Lloyds Bank branch were dug and artifacts from the Viking period were discovered. Now the diggers had come up with something bigger: they discovered the remains of a group of Viking buildings that were completed with animal stables, wells, waste pits and latrines.
For five years, that was one of the great archaeological finds of the 70s. They found coins, shoes, Viking jewelry, knives ... it was impressive enough to create a Viking museum that opened in 1984.
Since then, it is difficult to go to York without going through the museum. However, most visitors come to see a 1,200-year-old creature up close. The so-called Lloyds Bank Coprolite, the oldest, largest and most intact piece of fossilized human excrement ever found on Earth. And it belongs to one man, a Viking lord.
Lloyds Bank Coprolite
Vikings Wikimedia Commons
The scientific value of this poop lies in the unlikely possibility that such a thing will be seen again on Earth, that is, intact and 1,000 years ago. Researchers say that finding large deposits of biodegradable human waste is not unusual, what happens is that it is usually found only in large masses, such as in the bottom of latrines, and archaeologists can only draw general conclusions about the people who they used
Instead, the value of a single fossilized poop, such as the Lloyds Bank Coprolite, is that it provides a snapshot of a single person at a single point in time. Today it is known that their diet consisted of meat and grains for the most part, but not so much in fruits or vegetables, which may help explain why the sample is 20 centimeters long.
It is difficult to go to York without going through the museum. However, most visitors come to see a 1,200-year-old creature up close. The so-called Lloyds Bank Coprolite
Later studies have found that, like many other Vikings of his time, he suffered from at least two types of intestinal parasites: the remains of hundreds of whipworm eggs and worms were found in the feces.
The presence of worms in the feces is indicative of the extremely dirty conditions and lack of hygiene in the Viking settlements. The wells were dug too close to the latrines, which makes the availability of clean and uncontaminated water more than unlikely.
By the way, in 2003 there was a misfortune. The large excrement broke into three pieces after falling while being exposed at an exhibition party. Since then, researchers have taken pains to try to reconstruct the most legendary human poop known on Earth. [Wikipedia, The Guardian, BBC, Buzzfeed]